Circuit and method for controlling charge injection in radio frequency switches

ABSTRACT

A circuit and method for controlling charge injection in a circuit are disclosed. In one embodiment, the circuit and method are employed in a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) Radio Frequency (RF) switch. In one embodiment, an SOI RF switch comprises a plurality of switching transistors coupled in series, referred to as “stacked” transistors, and implemented as a monolithic integrated circuit on an SOI substrate. Charge injection control elements are coupled to receive injected charge from resistively-isolated nodes located between the switching transistors, and to convey the injected charge to at least one node that is not resistively-isolated. In one embodiment, the charge injection control elements comprise resistors. In another embodiment, the charge injection control elements comprise transistors. A method for controlling charge injection in a switch circuit is disclosed whereby injected charge is generated at resistively-isolated nodes between series coupled switching transistors, and the injected charge is conveyed to at least one node of the switch circuit that is not resistively-isolated.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED UTILITY AND PROVISIONAL APPLICATIONS Claimsof Priority

This application is a Continuation-in-Part (CIP) of co-pending andcommonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/520,912, filedSep. 14, 2006, entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS IMPROVING GATE OXIDERELIABILITY BY CONTROLLING ACCUMULATED CHARGE” [ATTY. DOCKET NO.PER-015-CIP], which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119 (e) of U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/718,260, filed Sep. 15, 2005; the citedapplication Ser. No. 11/520,912, filed Sep. 14, 2006, is a CIP of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/484,370, filed Jul. 10, 2006, entitled“METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR USE IN IMPROVING LINEARITY OF MOSFETS USING ANACCUMULATED CHARGE SINK” [DOCKET NO. PER-016-PAP], pending, which claimsthe benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119 (e) of U.S. Provisional ApplicationNo. 60/698,523, filed Jul. 11, 2005; the present CIP application is alsoa CIP of the cited U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/484,370, filedJul. 10, 2006, pending; and the present CIP application claims thebenefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119 (e) of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/833,562, filed Jul. 26, 2006, entitled “CIRCUIT AND METHOD FORCONTROLLING CHARGE INJECTION IN RADIO FREQUENCY SWITCHES” [DOCKET NO.PER-018-PROV]. The present CIP application is related to co-pending andcommonly assigned application Ser. No. 10/922,135, filed Aug. 18, 2004,[DOCKET NO. PER-001-CON], which issued Oct. 17, 2006 as U.S. Pat. No.7,123,898, and is a continuation application of application Ser. No.10/267,531, filed Oct. 8, 2002, which issued Oct. 12, 2004 as U.S. Pat.No. 6,804,502, entitled “SWITCH CIRCUIT AND METHOD OF SWITCHING RADIOFREQUENCY SIGNALS” [DOCKET NO. PER-001-PAP]. application Ser. No.10/267,531, filed Oct. 8, 2002, which issued Oct. 12, 2004 as U.S. Pat.No. 6,804,502, claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119 (e) of U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/328,353, filed Oct. 10, 2001. The presentCIP application is related to each of the applications set forth above.All of the applications and issued patents set forth above are herebyincorporated by reference herein as if set forth in full.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present teachings relate to electronic switches, and particularly toa circuit and method for controlling charge injection insemiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) radio frequency (RF) switches.

2. Description of Related Art

Radio frequency (RF) switches for directing RF signals are found in manydifferent RF devices such as televisions, video recorders, cabletelevision equipment, cellular telephones, wireless pagers, wirelessinfrastructure equipment, and satellite communications equipment. As iswell known, the performance of RF switches is controlled by threeprimary operating performance parameters: insertion loss, switchisolation, and the “1 dB compression point.” The “1 dB compressionpoint” is related to, and is indicative of, the linearity performance ofan RF switch. Linearity performance is also indicated by the levels ofRF signal harmonics generated by an RF switch, particularly at high RFpower levels. These three performance parameters are tightly coupled,and any one parameter can be emphasized in the design of RF switchcomponents at the expense of others. A fourth performance parameter thatis occasionally considered in the design of RF switches is commonlyreferred to as the switching time or switching speed (defined as thetime required to turn one side of a switch on and turn the other sideoff). Other characteristics important in RF switch design include easeand degree (or level) of integration of the RF switch, complexity,yield, return loss and cost of manufacture.

Charge injection is a problem that may occur in switching circuits suchas SOI RF switches. Charge injection occurs when an applied voltage,such as a gate bias voltage, is connected to a “resistively-isolatednode” through a coupling capacitance. A resistively-isolated node isdefined herein as a node that at some interval during operation isconnected to other circuit elements only through very high resistanceconnections. For example, a resistively-isolated node may occur at atransistor channel node located between series-connected transistorswhen the transistors are in an OFF-state. The coupling capacitancethrough which charge injection occurs may be either a parasiticcapacitance of a circuit element (e.g., gate-to-source capacitance in atransistor), or a capacitance associated with a capacitor. For example,a bias voltage applied to the gate of a transistor may be connected to aresistively-isolated source node of the transistor through thegate-to-source capacitance. In general, charge injection may be aproblem for many types of switching circuits. In particular, chargeinjection is significantly deleterious to the performance properties ofSOI RF switches. Further, teachings on prior art SOI RF switches do notaddress this problem, for reasons described in more detail hereinbelow.Consequently, a need exists for a novel circuit and method forcontrolling charge injection in SOI RF switches.

SUMMARY

A novel circuit and method for controlling charge injection in an SOI RFswitch are disclosed. The SOI RF switch may comprise a plurality ofswitching transistors connected in series (referred to herein as“stacked” switching transistors) implemented as a monolithic integratedcircuit (IC) on an SOI substrate. In one embodiment the SOI RF switch isfabricated on an Ultra-Thin-Silicon (“UTSi”) substrate, also referred toherein as “silicon on sapphire” (SOS). In another embodiment, the SOI RFswitch is fabricated in silicon-on-bonded wafer technology.

In an embodiment according to the present disclosure, an SOI RF switchincludes at least one stack comprising a plurality of switchingtransistors connected in a series circuit. Charge injection controlelements are connected to receive injected charge fromresistively-isolated nodes located between the switching transistors,and to convey the injected charge to one or more nodes that are notresistively-isolated. Optionally, the charge injection control elementsmay be connected to receive a control signal for switching the chargeinjection control elements between ON-states and OFF-states. In oneembodiment, each switching transistor in a stack of the SOI RF switchhas at least one charge injection control element operatively connectedbetween a source node and a drain node of each switching transistor.

In one embodiment, the charge injection control elements comprise chargeinjection control resistors. In another embodiment, the charge injectioncontrol elements comprise charge injection control transistors connectedto receive a control signal for switching the injection controltransistors between and ON-state and an OFF-state. The charge injectioncontrol transistors are operated so that they are in the ON-state whenthe switching transistors are in an ON-state. When the switchingtransistors are switched from the ON-state to an OFF-state, the chargeinjection control transistors are switched from an ON-state to anOFF-state after a selected delay time interval, thereby allowing theinjected charge to be conveyed to the least one node that is notresistively-isolated.

In one embodiment, a method for controlling charge injectionincludes: 1) causing charge injection to occur at resistively-isolatednodes located between the switching transistors; 2) conveying theinjected charge via charge injection control elements to at least onenode that is not resistively-isolated; and, 3) optionally switching thecharge injection control elements from an ON-state to an OFF-state.

According to one embodiment of the method for controlling chargeinjection, the charge injection control elements may comprise chargeinjection control resistors. In another embodiment, the charge injectioncontrol elements may comprise charge injection control transistors.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A schematically illustrates an SOI RF switch circuit using stackedswitching transistors.

FIG. 1B illustrates the effects of charge injection in an SOI RF switchcircuit using stacked switching transistors.

FIG. 1C illustrates simulated data for the RF switch of FIG. 1A whereinthe RF switch has recently been switched from an ON-state to anOFF-state.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an embodiment according to the presentdisclosure, including a charge injection control circuit.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic illustration of an embodiment according to thepresent disclosure, using resistors in a charge injection controlcircuit.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic illustration of an embodiment according to thepresent disclosure, using transistors in a charge injection controlcircuit.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart diagram illustrating a charge injection controlmethod.

FIG. 6A is a simplified schematic of an improved SOI NMOSFET adapted tocontrol accumulated charge embodied as a four terminal device.

FIG. 6B is a simplified schematic of an improved SOI NMOSFET adapted tocontrol accumulated charge, embodied as a four terminal device, whereinan accumulated charge sink (ACS) terminal is coupled to a gate terminal.

FIG. 6C is a simplified schematic of an improved SOI NMOSFET adapted tocontrol accumulated charge, embodied as a four terminal device, whereinan accumulated charge sink (ACS) terminal is coupled to a gate terminalvia a diode.

FIG. 6D is a simplified schematic of an improved SOI NMOSFET adapted tocontrol accumulated charge, embodied as a four terminal device, whereinan accumulated charge sink (ACS) terminal is coupled to a controlcircuit.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicatelike elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Throughout this description, embodiments and variations are describedfor the purpose of illustrating uses and implementations of theinventive concept. The illustrative description should be understood aspresenting examples of the inventive concept, rather than as limitingthe scope of the concept as disclosed herein.

The problems caused by charge injection in SOI RF switches may bedescribed with reference to FIG. 1A. An SOI RF switch 100 comprisesstacked switching transistors 111, 113, 115 and 117. As disclosed incommonly-assigned U.S. application Ser. Nos. 10/922,135 and 10/267,531,incorporated by reference hereinabove, RF switches using stackedswitching transistors have many performance advantages over prior art RFswitches, such as higher RF power capability and reduced generation ofharmonics in the switched RF signal. Although four stacked switchingtransistors are shown in FIG. 1A, it will be apparent to persons skilledin the arts of electronic circuits that the present teachings apply toRF switches having an arbitrary plurality of stacked switchingtransistors.

As shown in FIG. 1A, a first channel node of the switching transistor111 may receive an input RF signal from a node 101. A second channelnode of the switching transistor 111 is operatively connected through anode 103 to a first node of the switching transistor 113. A secondchannel node of the switching transistor 113 is operatively connectedthrough a node 105 to a first channel node of the switching transistor115. A second channel node of the switching transistor 115 isoperatively connected through a node 107 to a first channel node of theswitching transistor 117. A second channel node of the switchingtransistor 117 is connected to a node 109, which may output an RFsignal. Typically, the nodes 101 and 109 are connected to loadimpedances (not shown) having resistance values to ground on the orderof 50 or 75 ohms.

Gate nodes of the switching transistors 111, 113, 115 and 117 areseparately connected to gate resistors 121, 123, 125 and 127,respectively. As disclosed in U.S. App. Nos. 10/922,135 and 10/267,531,the gate resistors are included to enable voltage division of RF signalsacross the switching transistors, protect bias circuits, and preventtransmission of parasitic RF signals between the stacked switchingtransistors. In some embodiments, the resistance Rg of each gateresistor should be at least ten times larger than the RF impedance ofthe gate-to-drain capacitance Cgd of the switching transistor to whichit is connected. The gate resistors 121, 123, 125 and 127 are jointlyconnected to a gate control line 119 to receive a gate control signalC1.

The operation and advantages of RF switches such as the SOI RF switch100 have been previously disclosed, as for example in U.S. applicationSer. Nos. 10/922,135 and 10/267,531.

However, the charge injection problem and solution have not beenpreviously disclosed. In the present example, as illustrated by FIG. 1A,charge injection may occur at the nodes 103, 105 and 107 in thefollowing manner. For the present example, the switching transistors111, 113, 115 and 117 comprise enhancement-mode n-channelMetal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MOSFETs) with athreshold voltage of +0.3 V. The gate control signal C1 is variedbetween a voltage of +3.0 V wherein the switching transistors are ON,and a voltage of −3.0 V wherein the switching transistors are OFF.

When the gate control signal C11 changes from +3 V to −3 V, the voltagepasses through the switching transistor threshold voltage +0.3 V. Duringthis process, the switching transistors 111 and 117 will switch from ONto OFF without difficulty because the nodes 109 and 101 are connected toload resistors (not shown) and therefore have an average DC potential atapproximately ground potential or 0 V. The first channel node of theswitching transistor 111 and the second channel node of the switchingtransistor 117 will be at a DC bias voltage of approximately 0 V, andtheir respective gate nodes will be a voltage of −3 V. However, when theswitching transistors 111 and 117 switch from ON to OFF, the nodes 103,105 and 107 become resistively isolated, as defined hereinabove inparagraph 004. For this reason, charge injection through thegate-to-channel capacitances of the switching transistors 113 and 115 tothe nodes 103, 105 and 107 will occur as the control signal C1 voltagemoves from the threshold voltage of +0.3 to −3 V. The charge injectionwill tend to maintain the nodes 103, 105 and 107 at voltages that may beonly slightly more positive than the control signal C1 voltage. Thiswill prevent the channels of the transistors 103, 105 and 107 fromachieving a highly depleted condition, which is required for properoperation of the SOI RF switch 100.

These effects are illustrated in FIG. 1B by simulated data for the SOIRF switch 100. When a control voltage 142 (C1) is switched from +3 V to−3 V, voltages 134, 136 and 138, on nodes 107, 105 and 103,respectively, follow the voltage 142 as described above. Voltages 132and 140 on nodes 109 and 101, respectively, remain at 0 V because theyare not resistively isolated.

Prior art teachings are not informed regarding the problem of chargeinjection as described above. The principal reason for this is that RFswitches such as SOI RF switch 100 are typically used to switch RFsignals of several volts AC amplitude. If some of the switchingtransistors are not in a strong OFF-state, the RF signals will causebreakdown effects in the switching transistors that are strongly turnedOFF and therefore receive larger RF signal voltages. These breakdowneffects remove the injected charge from the resistively-isolated nodes,thereby enabling the switches to operate after a time interval. However,the breakdown effects may have deleterious effects on the reliability ofthe switching transistors. Further, because the breakdown effects occurover a time interval, the performance of the RF switch is adverselyaffected during the time interval. In particular, during the timeinterval wherein the injected charge is not completely removed, theswitch response becomes nonlinear, and undesirable RF harmonics may begenerated by the SOI RF switch.

These deleterious effects are illustrated in FIG. 1C by simulated datafor the SOI RF switch 100 that has been recently switched from theON-state to the OFF-state. At a time 99.0000 microseconds, an RF signal160 is applied at the node 101. RF signals 158, 156, 154 and 152 appearat nodes 103, 105, 107 and 109, respectively, due to parasitic couplingeffects. Persons skilled in the electronic arts will recognize from thedistorted waveforms seen in the RF signals 158, 156, 154 and 152 thatsignificant nonlinear distortion is present during the time intervalillustrated, which corresponds to a time when charge injection effectsare present. These deleterious effects due to charge injection can bereduced or eliminated according to the teachings herein.

SOI RF Switch with a Charge Injection Control Circuit.

An embodiment of a charge injection control circuit to remove injectedcharge in an SOI RF switch is illustrated by FIG. 2.

In FIG. 2, an SOI RF switch 200 includes charge injection controlelements 201, 203, 205 and 207 that comprise elements of a chargeinjection control circuit. A first and second channel node of the chargeinjection control element 201 are operatively connected to the nodes 101and 103, respectively. A first and second channel node of the chargeinjection control element 203 are operatively connected to the nodes 103and 105, respectively. A first and second channel node of the chargeinjection control element 205 are operatively connected to the nodes 105and 107, respectively. A first and second channel node of the chargeinjection control element 207 are similarly operatively connected to thenodes 107 and 109, respectively. Optionally (e.g., as described below inreference to FIG. 4), the charge injection control elements 201, 203,205 and 207 may be connected to a control line 209 to receive a controlsignal C2.

The charge injection control elements 201, 203, 205 and 207 receiveinjected charge from the nodes 103, 105 and 107, and selectively conveythe injected charge to the nodes 101 and 109. For some embodiments, thecontrol voltage C2 may be used to switch the charge injection controlelements 201, 203, 205 and 207 between ON and OFF states (e.g., asdescribed below in reference to FIG. 4).

For improved performance, the charge injection control elements 201,203, 205 and 207 should be designed to have an impedance sufficientlyhigh to prevent degradation of the RF isolation performance of the SOIRF switch 200. However, the charge injection control elements 201, 203,205 and 207 should also have an impedance sufficiently low toeffectively remove the injected charge and avoid degradation of theswitching time for the SOI RF switch 200. Further, in some embodiments,the charge injection control elements 201, 203, 205 and 207 are designedso that they do not cause nonlinear behavior and RF harmonic generation.In addition, it is desirable that the charge injection control elements201, 203, 205 and 207 do not degrade the switching time of the SOI RFswitch 200. These design tradeoffs are described in more detail below inreference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

Many configurations of charge injection control elements can be used toremove injected charge from resistively-isolated nodes between switchingtransistors in SOI RF switches.

SOI RF Switch Circuits with Charge Injection Control Circuits UsingResistors

An embodiment of a charge injection control circuit using resistors toremove injected charge in an SOI RF switch is illustrated in FIG. 3. InFIG. 3, an SOI RF switch 300 includes charge injection control resistors301, 303, 305 and 307 that comprise elements of a charge injectioncontrol circuit. A first node of the charge injection control resistor301 is operatively connected to the node 101, and a second node of thecharge injection control resistor 301 is operatively connected to thenode 103. Similarly, a first node of the charge injection controlresistor 303 is operatively connected to the node 103, and a second nodeof the charge injection control resistor 303 is operatively connected tothe node 105. Similarly, a first node of the charge injection controlresistor 305 is operatively connected to the node 105, and a second nodeof the charge injection control resistor 305 is operatively connected tothe node 107. Similarly, a first node of the charge injection controlresistor 307 is operatively connected to the node 107, and a second nodeof the charge injection control resistor 307 is operatively connected tothe node 109. The charge injection control resistors 301, 303, 305 and307 receive injected charge from the nodes 103, 105 and 107, and conveythe injected charge to the nodes 101 and 109.

As noted above, for improved performance, the charge injection controlresistors 301, 303, 305 and 307 are designed to have a sufficiently highresistance valve to prevent degradation of the RF isolation performanceof the SOI RF switch 300. However, the charge injection controlresistors 301, 303, 305 and 307 should also have a low enough resistanceto effectively remove the injected charge. Using circuit simulationtechniques, good performance has been determined for charge injectionresistors selected according to the following equation:Rc=Rg/N  [EQUATION 1]In Equation 1, Rc is the resistance of each charge injection controlresistor, Rg is the resistance of each gate resistor, and N is thenumber of RF switching transistors in the stack, also referred to as the“stack height”. It has been determined that choosing the chargeinjection resistors according to EQUATION 1 provides minimal degradationto the isolation and switching time performance of the SOI RF switch. Inone embodiment, SOI RF switch 300 may have gate resistors 121, 123, 125and 127 that are each 100 K-ohm. In this embodiment, the chargeinjection control resistors 301, 303, 305 and 307 will each compriseK-ohm resistors, because the stack height N=4 in this example. Thepresent disclosure also encompasses use of charge injection controlresistors having Rc values other than as indicated by EQUATION 1. Forexample, in some embodiments Rc may be selected in the range10×Rg/N>Rc>Rg/10N.

U.S. application Ser. No. 11/484,370, filed Jul. 10, 2006, pending,incorporated by reference hereinabove, discloses using drain-to-sourceRds resistors between the source and drain of a stacked SOI RF switchhaving an accumulated charge sink. Although the Rds resistors 802, 804,and 806 as shown in FIG. 8, of the U.S. application Ser. No. 11/484,370have a configuration that is similar to the charge injection controlresistors 301, 303, 305 and 307, their function and operation aredistinct. In particular, the Rds resistors 802, 804, and 806 areincluded to allow removal of a DC current generated by using anaccumulated charge sink, while the present disclosure provides asolution to the more general problem of charge injection in SOI RFswitches that may or may not have an accumulated charge sink.

Charge Injection Control Circuit Using Transistors to Remove InjectedCharge

An embodiment of a charge injection control circuit using transistors toremove injected charge in an SOI RF switch is illustrated by FIG. 4.

In FIG. 4 an SOI RF switch 400 includes charge injection controltransistors 401, 403, 405 and 407 that comprise elements of a chargeinjection control circuit. A first and second channel node of the chargeinjection control transistor 401 are operatively connected to the nodes101 and 103, respectively. Similarly, a first and second channel node ofthe charge injection control transistor 403 are operatively connected tothe nodes 103 and 105, respectively. Similarly, a first and secondchannel node of the charge injection control transistor 405 areoperatively connected to the nodes 105 and 107, respectively. Similarly,a first and second channel node of the charge injection controltransistor 407 are operatively connected to the nodes 107 and 109,respectively.

The gates of the charge injection control transistors 401, 403, 405 and407 are operatively connected to gate resistors 411, 413, 415 and 417,respectively. The gate resistors 411, 413, 415 and 417 are alsoconnected to a control line 209 to receive a control signal C2 that isconveyed to the gates of the charge injection control transistors 401,403, 405 and 407. The resistors 411, 413, 415 and 417 are included toenable voltage division of RF signals cross the switching transistors,protect bias circuits, and prevent transmission of parasitic RF signalsbetween the stacked switching transistors.

In one embodiment, in operation, the control signal C2 provides avoltage signal to maintain the charge injection control transistors 401,403, 405 and 407 in an ON-state during time intervals in which the gatecontrol signal C1 maintains the switching transistors 111, 113, 115 and117 in an ON-state. For example, the transistors 401, 403, 405, 407,111, 113, 115 and 117 may all be enhancement-mode n-channel MOSFETs witha threshold voltage of +0.1 V. The gate control signals C1 and C2 may beselected to vary between a voltage of +1.0 V to turn the transistors ON,and a voltage of −3.0 V to turn the transistors OFF.

When the gate control signal C1 transitions from +1 V to −3 V, thevoltage passes through the switching transistor threshold voltage +0.1V. If the gate control signal C2 is maintained at a voltage of +1 V fora time interval after the gate control signal C1 transitions from +1 Vto −3 V, the nodes 103, 105 and 107 maintain low resistance connectionsto the nodes 101 and 109 via the ON-state charge injection controltransistors 401, 403, 405 and 407. This low resistance connectionconveys the injected charge from the nodes 103, 105 and 107 to the nodes101 and 109, thereby controlling the charge injection process. After theswitching transistors 111, 113, 115 and 117 are in the OFF-state, thecharge injection control transistors 401, 403, 405 and 407 may beswitched to the OFF-state by changing the gate control signal C2 from +1V to −3 V.

In order to reduce charge injection via the charge injection controltransistors 401, 403, 405 and 407 to the nodes 103, 105 and 107 that mayoccur when the charge injection control transistors 401, 403, 405 and407 are switched OFF, the capacitances between the gate nodes and thechannel nodes of the charge injection control transistors should be madesmaller than the capacitances between the gate nodes and the channelnodes of the switching transistors. This may be accomplished by makingthe widths of the charge injection control transistors smaller than thewidths of the switching transistors. For example, if the chargeinjection control transistors have a width Wc that is 0.1 times as largeas a width Ws of the switching transistors, the charge injectionmagnitude will be smaller by a factor of approximately 0.1. At thislevel, the charge injection will be sufficiently small to not degradeperformance for an SOI RF switch such the exemplary SOI RF switch 400.

Some advantages of using charge injection control transistors, ratherthan charge injection control resistors, are reduced switching time andimproved switch isolation.

Charge Injection Control Method

In FIG. 5 a charge injection control method 500 is represented by a flowchart diagram. The method begins at a STEP 502, wherein charge injectionis caused to occur at resistively isolated nodes of a circuit. In oneembodiment, charge injection is generated in an SOI RF switch includingstacked switching transistors when the RF switch is switched from anON-state to an OFF-state. In this embodiment, the charge injectionoccurs at resistively-isolated nodes located between the switchingtransistors.

At a STEP 504, the injected charge is conveyed via charge injectioncontrol elements from the resistively-isolated nodes to at least onenode that is not resistively-isolated. In one embodiment, the chargeinjection control elements may comprise charge injection controlresistors. For this embodiment, the method stops at the STEP 504.

At an optional STEP 506, the charge injection control elements areswitched from an ON-state to an OFF-state following a selected timedelay interval after the switching transistors are switched from theON-state to the OFF-state. For example, the STEP 506 is implemented inan embodiment wherein the charge injection control elements comprisecharge injection control transistors.

Pulse Method for Controlling Accumulated Charge

As disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 11/484,370, filed Jul. 10,2006, pending, and in U.S. application Ser. No. 11/520,912, filed Sep.14, 2006, filed Sep. 15, 2005, both incorporated by referencehereinabove, accumulated charge can occur in MOSFET devices that areused in SOI RF switches. A MOSFET device is defined as operating withinan “accumulated charge regime” when the MOSFET is biased to operate inan off-state, and when carriers having opposite polarity to the channelcarriers are present in the channel region. Accumulated charge in thechannel region can degrade the performance of MOSFETs used in SOI RFswitches. In particular, the accumulated charge can cause harmonicgeneration in RF signals and degrade the gate oxide reliability of aMOSFET device.

Accumulated charge in an n-channel MOSFET results from a slowelectron-hole pair generation process that occurs when a gate voltage Vgis negative with respect to a source bias voltage Vs and a drain biasvoltage Vd. If a positive voltage pulse above a threshold voltage Vth isapplied to the gate terminal of the MOSFET, a conducting channelcomprising electrons is formed in the body of the MOSFET, and theaccumulated charge is dissipated due to drift and recombination. Whenthe gate voltage Vg returns to the negative bias level present prior tothe application of the positive voltage pulse, the accumulated chargeregenerates in a time period having a time scale that is typically inthe millisecond range or longer. Consequently, the accumulated charge inthe MOSFET may be controlled by applying a series of positive voltagepulses to the gate terminal. In one example, the pulse rate may beselected by observing harmonic generation in an applied RF signal, andselecting a pulse rate sufficiently high to prevent the harmonicgeneration from exceeding a desired level.

As a practical effect of applying the pulse method of controllingaccumulated charge in an SOI RF switch, charge injection will occur eachtime the switching transistors are switched from an ON-state to anOFF-state. Consequently, the teachings of the present disclosure forcontrolling charge injection are also useful when used in conjunctionwith SOI RF switch systems employing the pulse method for controllingaccumulated charge.

Embodiments Using Accumulated Charge Control (ACC) Switching Transistors

Embodiments according to the present teachings may, in some embodiments,use switching transistors (e.g., the switching transistors 111, 113, 115and 117 of FIGS. 1A, 2, 3 and 4) having an accumulated charge sink (ACS)610, as shown in FIGS. 6A-6D, and as described in greater detail in U.S.application Ser. No. 11/484,370, filed Jul. 10, 2006, pending,incorporated by reference hereinabove. For example, the switchingtransistors 111, 113, 115, and 117 (see FIGS. 3-4 and associateddescription above) may, in some embodiments, comprise accumulated chargecontrol (ACC) transistors described in the above-incorporatedapplication Ser. No. 11/484,370, filed Jul. 10, 2006, and shown in FIGS.6A-6D. In another embodiment, the switching transistors 111, 113, 115,and 117 may comprise ACC transistors operated according to the pulsemethod for controlling accumulated charge, as described above and asdescribed in greater detail in the above-incorporated application Ser.No. 11/520,912, filed Sep. 14, 2006.

As shown in FIGS. 6A-6D, in an improved ACC SOI NMOSFET 600, a gateterminal 602 is electrically coupled to a gate 601, a source terminal604 is electrically coupled to a source 603, and a drain terminal 606 iselectrically coupled to a drain 605. Finally, the ACC MOSFET 600includes an ACS terminal 608 that is electrically coupled to the ACS610.

The ACC SOI NMOSFET 600 may be operated using various techniques andimplemented in various circuits in order to control accumulated chargepresent in the FET when it is operating in an accumulated charge regime.For example, in one exemplary embodiment as shown in FIG. 6B, the gateand ACS terminals, 602 and 608, respectively, are electrically coupledtogether. In one embodiment of the simplified circuit shown in FIG. 6B,the source and drain bias voltages applied to the terminals 604 and 606,respectively, may be zero. If the gate bias voltage (Vg) applied to thegate terminal 602 is sufficiently negative with respect to the sourceand drain bias voltages (Vs and Vd, respectively) applied to theterminals 604 and 606, and with respect to the threshold voltage V_(th),(for example, if V_(th) is approximately zero, and if Vg is morenegative than approximately −1 V) the ACC NMOSFET 600 operates in theaccumulated charge regime. When the MOSFET operates in this regime,accumulated charge (holes) may accumulate in the NMOSFET 600.

Advantageously, the accumulated charge can be removed via the ACSterminal 608 by connecting the ACS terminal 608 to the gate terminal 602as shown in FIG. 6B. This configuration ensures that when the FET 600 isoperated in the OFF-state, it is held in the correct bias region toeffectively remove or otherwise control the accumulated charge. As shownin FIG. 6B, connecting the ACS terminal 608 to the gate ensures that thesame bias voltages are applied to both the gate (Vg) and the ACS 610(V_(ACS)). The accumulated charge is thereby removed from the SOINMOSFET 600 via the ACS terminal 608.

In other exemplary embodiments, as described with reference to FIG. 6C,for example, Vs and Vd may comprise nonzero bias voltages. According tothese examples, Vg must be sufficiently negative to both Vs and Vd inorder for Vg to be sufficiently negative to V_(th) to turn the NMOSFET600 OFF (i.e., operate the NMOSFET 600 in the OFF-state). When sobiased, as described above, the NMOSFET 600 may enter the accumulatedcharge regime. For this example, the voltage V_(ACS) may also beselected to be equal to Vg by connecting the ACS terminal 608 to thegate terminal 602, thereby conveying the accumulated charge from the ACCNMOSFET, as described above.

Another exemplary simplified circuit using the improved ACC SOI NMOSFET600 is shown in FIG. 6C. As shown in FIG. 6C, in this embodiment, theACS terminal 608 may be electrically coupled to a diode 610, and thediode 610 may, in turn, be coupled to the gate terminal 602. Thisembodiment may be used to prevent a positive current flow into the ACS610 caused by a positive Vg-to-Vs (or, equivalently, Vgs, where Vgs=Vg−Vs) bias voltage, as may occur, for example, when the SOI NMOSFET 300is biased into an ON-state condition.

As with the device shown in FIG. 6B, when biased OFF, the ACS terminal608 voltage V_(ACS) comprises the gate voltage plus a voltage dropacross the diode 610. At very low ACS terminal 610 current levels, thevoltage drop across the diode 610 typically also is very low (e.g.,<<500 mV, for example, for a typical threshold diode).

When the SOI NMOSFET 600 is biased in an ON-state condition, the diode610 is reverse-biased, thereby preventing the flow of positive currentinto the source and drain regions. The reverse-biased configurationreduces power consumption and improves linearity of the device. Thecircuit shown in FIG. 6C therefore works well to remove the accumulatedcharge when the FET is in the OFF-state and is operated in theaccumulated charge regime. It also permits almost any positive voltageto be applied to the gate voltage Vg. This, in turn, allows the ACCMOSFET to effectively remove accumulated charge when the device operatesin the OFF-state, yet assume the characteristics of a floating bodydevice when the device operates in the ON-state.

With the exception of the diode 610 used to prevent the flow of positivecurrent into the ACS terminal 608, exemplary operation of the simplifiedcircuit shown in FIG. 6C is the same as the operation of the circuitdescribed above with reference to FIG. 6B.

In yet another embodiment, the ACS terminal 608 may be coupled to acontrol circuit 612 as illustrated in the simplified circuit of FIG. 6D.The control circuit 612 may provide a selectable ACS bias voltageV_(ACS) that selectively controls the accumulated charge.

Method of Fabrication

With varying performance results, RF switches have heretofore beenimplemented in different component technologies, including bulkcomplementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) and gallium-arsenide(GaAs) technologies. In fact, most high-performance high-frequencyswitches use GaAs technology.

Although GaAs RF switch implementations offer improved performancecharacteristics relative to bulk CMOS, the technology has severaldisadvantages. For example, GaAs technology exhibits relatively lowyields of properly functioning integrated circuits. GaAs RF switchestend to be relatively expensive to design and manufacture. In addition,although GaAs switches exhibit improved insertion loss characteristicsas described above, they may have low frequency limitations due to slowstates present in the GaAs substrate. The technology also does not lenditself to high levels of integration, which requires that digitalcontrol circuitry associated with the RF switch be implemented “offchip” from the switch. The low power control circuitry associated withthe switch has proven difficult to integrate. This is disadvantageous asit both increases the overall system cost or manufacture, size andcomplexity, as well as reducing system throughput speeds.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the exemplary circuitsdescribed hereinabove are implemented using a fully insulating substratesilicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology. More specifically, the MOSFETtransistors of the present disclosure are implemented using“Ultra-Thin-Silicon (UTSi)” (also referred to herein as “ultrathinsilicon-on-sapphire”) technology. In accordance with UTSi manufacturingmethods, the transistors used to implement the inventive RF switch areformed in an extremely thin layer of silicon in an insulating sapphirewafer. The fully insulating sapphire substrate enhances the performancecharacteristics of the inventive RF switch by reducing the deleterioussubstrate coupling effects associated with non-insulating and partiallyinsulating substrates. For example, improvements in insertion loss arerealized by lowering the transistor ON-state resistances and by reducingparasitic substrate conductances and capacitances. In addition, switchisolation is improved using the fully insulating substrates provided byUTSi technology. Owing to the fully insulating nature ofsilicon-on-sapphire technology, the parasitic capacitance between thenodes of the RF switches are greatly reduced as compared with bulk CMOSand other traditional integrated circuit manufacturing technologies.

Silicon on Insulator RF Integrated Circuits

As is well known, SOI has been used in the implementation of highperformance microelectronic devices, primarily in applications requiringradiation hardness and high speed operation. SOI technologies include,for example, SIMOX, bonded wafers having a thin silicon layer bonded toan insulating layer, and silicon-on-sapphire. In order to achieve thedesired RF switch performance characteristics described hereinabove, inone embodiment, the inventive RF switch is fabricated on a sapphiresubstrate.

Fabrication of devices on an insulating substrate requires that aneffective method for forming silicon CMOS devices on the insulatingsubstrate be used. The advantages of using a composite substratecomprising a monocrystalline semiconductor layer, such as silicon,epitaxially deposited on a supporting insulating substrate, such assapphire, are well-recognized, and can be realized by employing as thesubstrate an insulating material, such as sapphire (Al₂O₃), spinel, orother known highly insulating materials, and providing that theconduction path of any inter-device leakage current must pass throughthe substrate.

An “ideal” SOI wafer can be defined to include a completelymonocrystalline, defect-free silicon layer of sufficient thickness toaccommodate the fabrication of active devices therein. The silicon layerwould be adjacent to an insulating substrate and would have a minimum ofcrystal lattice discontinuities at the silicon-insulator interface.Early attempts to fabricate this “ideal” silicon-on-insulator wafer werefrustrated by a number of significant problems, which can be summarizedas (1) substantial incursion of contaminants into the epitaxiallydeposited silicon layer, especially the p-dopant aluminum, as aconsequence of the high temperatures used in the initial epitaxialsilicon deposition and the subsequent annealing of the silicon layer toreduce defects therein; and (2) poor crystalline quality of theepitaxial silicon layers when the problematic high temperatures wereavoided or worked around through various implanting, annealing, and/orre-growth schemes.

It has been found that the high quality silicon films suitable fordemanding device applications can be fabricated on sapphire substratesby a method that involves epitaxial deposition of a silicon layer on asapphire substrate, low temperature ion implant to form a buriedamorphous region in the silicon layer, and annealing the composite attemperatures below about 950 degrees C.

Examples of and methods for making such silicon-on-sapphire devices aredescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,416,043 (“Minimum charge FET fabricated onan ultrathin silicon on sapphire wafer”); 5,492,857 (“High-frequencywireless communication system on a single ultrathin silicon on sapphirechip”); 5,572,040 (“High-frequency wireless communication system on asingle ultrathin silicon on sapphire chip”); 5,596,205 (“High-frequencywireless communication system on a single ultrathin silicon on sapphirechip”); 5,600,169 (“Minimum charge FET fabricated on an ultrathinsilicon on sapphire wafer”); 5,663,570 (“High-frequency wirelesscommunication system on a single ultrathin silicon on sapphire chip”);5,861,336 (“High-frequency wireless communication system on a singleultrathin silicon on sapphire chip”); 5,863,823 (“Self-aligned edgecontrol in silicon on insulator”); 5,883,396 (“High-frequency wirelesscommunication system on a single ultrathin silicon on sapphire chip”);5,895,957 (“Minimum charge FET fabricated on an ultrathin silicon onsapphire wafer”); 5,920,233 (“Phase locked loop including a samplingcircuit for reducing spurious side bands”); 5,930,638 (“Method of makinga low parasitic resistor on ultrathin silicon on insulator”); 5,973,363(“CMOS circuitry with shortened P-channel length on ultrathin silicon oninsulator”); 5,973,382 (“Capacitor on ultrathin semiconductor oninsulator”); and 6,057,555 (“High-frequency wireless communicationsystem on a single ultrathin silicon on sapphire chip”). All of thesereferenced patents are incorporated herein in their entirety for theirteachings on ultrathin silicon-on-sapphire integrated circuit design andfabrication.

Using the methods described in the patents referenced above, electronicdevices can be formed in an extremely thin layer of silicon on aninsulating synthetic sapphire wafer. The thickness of the silicon layeris typically less than 150 nm. Such an “ultrathin” silicon layermaximizes the advantages of the insulating sapphire substrate and allowsthe integration of multiple functions on a single integrated circuit.Traditional transistor isolation wells required for thick silicon areunnecessary, simplifying transistor processing and increasing circuitdensity. To distinguish these above-referenced methods and devices fromearlier thick-silicon embodiments, they are herein referred tocollectively as “ultrathin silicon-on-sapphire.”

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the MOS transistors maybe formed in ultrathin silicon-on-sapphire wafers by the methodsdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,416,043; 5,492,857; 5,572,040; 5,596,205;5,600,169; 5,663,570; 5,861,336; 5,863,823; 5,883,396; 5,895,957;5,920,233; 5,930,638; 5,973,363; 5,973,382; and 6,057,555. However,other known methods of fabricating silicon-on-sapphire integratedcircuits can be used without departing from the spirit or scope of thepresent teachings.

A number of embodiments of the present inventive concept have beendescribed.

Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may bemade without departing from the scope of the inventive teachings. Forexample, it should be understood that many types of switch circuits(e.g., single-pole single-throw, single-pole double-throw,double-throw-pole double-throw, etc.) may be used according to thepresent teachings. In another example, it should be noted that althoughembodiments having SOI RF switches have been used herein for exemplarypurposes, persons skilled in the electronic arts will understand thatthe present teachings may be applied to many other types of switchingcircuits having isolated nodes wherein charge injection may occur.

Accordingly, it is to be understood that the inventive concept is not tobe limited by the specific illustrated embodiments, but only by thescope of the appended claims. The description may provide examples ofsimilar features as are recited in the claims, but it should not beassumed that such similar features are identical to those in the claimsunless such identity is essential to comprehend the scope of the claim.In some instances the intended distinction between claim features anddescription features is underscored by using slightly differentterminology.

1. A switch circuit, comprising: a) a plurality of switching transistorscoupled in series to selectively convey a signal from an input of theseries coupled switching transistors to an output of the series coupledswitching transistors, wherein injected charge is generated atresistively-isolated nodes between the switching transistors; and b) aplurality of charge injection control elements operatively coupled tothe switching transistors, and wherein the charge injection controlelements receive the injected charge from the resistively-isolated nodesand convey the injected charge to at least one node of the switchcircuit that is not resistively-isolated.
 2. The switch circuit of claim1, wherein each switching transistor has an associated and correspondingcharge injection control element, and wherein a drain node of eachswitching transistor is coupled to a first node of its associated andcorresponding charge injection control element, and wherein a sourcenode of each switching transistor is coupled to a second node of itsassociated and corresponding charge injection control element, andwherein each charge injection control element conveys the injectedcharge between the drain node and the source node of its associated andcorresponding switching transistor.
 3. The switch circuit of claim 1,wherein each of the switching transistors comprises an accumulatedcharge control (ACC) transistor.
 4. The switch circuit of claim 3,wherein the ACC transistor includes an accumulated charge sink (ACS)electrically coupled to convey accumulated charge from the ACS to a gateterminal of the ACC transistor when the ACC transistor operates in anaccumulated charge regime.
 5. The switch circuit of claim 4, wherein adiode selectively conveys accumulated charge from the ACS to the gateterminal of the ACC transistor when the ACC transistor operates in anaccumulated charge regime.
 6. The switch circuit of claim 2, whereineach charge injection control element comprises a charge injectioncontrol resistor.
 7. The switch circuit of claim 6, further comprising aplurality of gate resistors each having a resistance Rg, wherein a gateof each switching transistor is connected to an associated andcorresponding one of the plurality of gate resistors, and wherein theplurality of gate resistors is connected to a control line that conveysa control signal to the gate of each switching transistor, and wherein aresistance Rc of each charge injection control resistor is selectedaccording to a formula 10×Rg/N>Rc>Rg/10N, and wherein N comprises anumber of switching transistors in the plurality of switchingtransistors.
 8. The switch circuit of claim 2, wherein the chargeinjection control elements comprise switching circuits having anON-state and an OFF-state, and wherein a control signal selectivelyswitches the charge injection control elements from the ON-state to theOFF-state at a time subsequent to a time at which each switchingtransistor is switched from an ON-state to an OFF-state.
 9. The switchcircuit of claim 8, wherein the charge injection control elementscomprise charge injection control transistors.
 10. The switch circuit ofclaim 1, wherein the switch circuit comprises a radio frequency (RF)switch.
 11. The switch circuit of claim 3, wherein the ACC transistoruses a pulse method for controlling accumulated charge.
 12. The switchcircuit of claim 1, wherein the plurality of switching transistorscomprise semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) metal-oxide-semiconductorfield effect transistors (MOSFETs).
 13. The switch circuit of claim 12,wherein the SOI MOSFETs are fabricated on a silicon-on-sapphiresubstrate.
 14. A method of controlling charge injection in a switchcircuit, wherein the switch circuit comprises a plurality of switchingtransistors coupled in series to selectively convey a signal from aninput of the series coupled transistors to an output of the seriescoupled transistors, comprising the steps of: a) generating injectedcharge at resistively-isolated nodes between the series coupledswitching transistors; and b) conveying the injected charge to at leastone node of the switch circuit that is not resistively-isolated.
 15. Themethod of claim 14, wherein each switching transistor has an associatedand corresponding charge injection control element, and wherein a drainnode of each switching transistor is coupled to a first node of itsassociated and corresponding charge injection control element, andwherein a source node of each switching transistor is coupled to asecond node of its associated and corresponding charge injection controlelement, and wherein each charge injection control element conveys theinjected charge between the drain node and the source node of itsassociated and corresponding switching transistor.
 16. The method ofclaim 14, wherein each of the switching transistors comprises anaccumulated charge control (ACC) transistor.
 17. The method of claim 16,wherein the ACC transistor includes an accumulated charge sink (ACS)electrically coupled to convey accumulated charge from the ACS to a gateterminal of the ACC transistor when the ACC transistor operates in anaccumulated charge regime.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein a diodeselectively conveys accumulated charge from the ACS to the gate terminalof the ACC transistor when the ACC transistor operates in an accumulatedcharge regime.
 19. The method of claim 15, wherein each charge injectioncontrol element comprises a charge injection control resistor.
 20. Themethod of claim 15, wherein the charge injection control elementscomprise switching circuits having an ON-state and an OFF-state, andwherein the method further comprises a step of switching the chargecontrol elements from the ON-state to the OFF-state at a time subsequentto a time at which each switching transistor is switched from anON-state to an OFF-state.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the chargeinjection control elements comprise charge injection controltransistors.
 22. The method of claim 14, wherein the switch circuitcomprises a radio frequency (RF) switch.
 23. The method of claim 16,wherein the ACC transistor uses a pulse method for controllingaccumulated charge.
 24. A switch circuit, comprising a plurality ofswitching transistors connected in a series configuration to selectivelyconvey a signal from an input of the series coupled transistors to anoutput of the series coupled transistors, comprising: a) means forgenerating injected charge at resistively-isolated nodes between theswitching transistors; and b) means, operatively coupled to thegenerating means, for conveying the injected charge to at least one nodeof the switch circuit that is not resistively-isolated.
 25. The switchcircuit of claim 24, wherein the conveying means comprises a pluralityof charge injection control elements, and wherein each switchingtransistor has an associated and corresponding charge injection controlelement, and wherein a drain node of each switching transistor iscoupled to a first node of its associated and corresponding chargeinjection control element, and wherein a source node of each switchingtransistor is coupled to a second node of its associated andcorresponding charge injection control element, and wherein each chargeinjection control element conveys the injected charge between the drainnode and the source node of its associated and corresponding switchingtransistor.
 26. The switch circuit of claim 24, wherein each of theswitching transistors comprises an accumulated charge control (ACC)transistor.
 27. The switch circuit of claim 25, wherein each chargeinjection control element comprises a charge injection control resistor.28. The switch circuit of claim 27, further comprising a plurality ofgate resistors each having a resistance Rg, wherein a gate of eachswitching transistor is connected to an associated and corresponding oneof the plurality of gate resistors, and wherein the plurality of gateresistors is connected to a control line that conveys a control signalto the gate of each switching transistor, and wherein a resistance Rc ofeach charge injection control resistor is selected according to aformula 10×Rg/N>Rc>Rg/10N, and wherein N comprises a number of switchingtransistors in the plurality of switching transistors.
 29. The switchcircuit of claim 25, wherein the charge injection control elementscomprise switching circuits having an ON-state and an OFF-state, andwherein a control signal selectively switches the charge injectioncontrol elements from the ON-state to the OFF-state, further comprisinga means for switching the charge injection control elements from theON-state to the OFF-state at a time subsequent to a time at which eachswitching transistor is switched from an ON-state to an OFF-state. 30.The switch circuit of claim 29, wherein the charge injection controlelements comprise charge injection control transistors.